Egg cooker



Oct. 13; 1959 A. A. LOCKE v EGG COOKER Filed Aug. 1,' 1955 izvmvroze. ARTHUR 4. locks ATTORNEY e or; New. "ha e 4., .s all. n. We

52,908,213 AEGQ O R I Arthur Ai llocke -Algonac, Nlich. tarbliaumar u t 25 ri N 525,498 l Claim. cr w-ass anrfinsfon movinglthelheating.elementttoward andaway from the, egg. 4 t t ,gAmongmthe iobjectsxof :my invention are.v to provide automatimmeanszfm cooking. eggs; toz'provide means for cooking eggsiinsthezshellwithout=the use of water or jstcam;;.to zzprovidecmeans z fora cooking eggswhich will automatically: operaterand i position 1 itself from a start :to completion of the cooking cycle without disturbance of the egg; to provide means for cooking eggs which will permit the use ofiasirnple-and compact-device-of attractive appearance,;and being readily'.-adapted for use on a breakfast table; to provide means for cooking eggs can beused repeatedly successive operations Without impairment onwithout-requiring special attention tdtthefdevice; and-toprovide an egg cooker which will operate quickly, efficiently -and --economicalllyfor the purposastatedr- I i-"lhes'e and otherobjects and advantages will appear niore .fully in the --following detailed desc iptiont-akenin connection I withthe accompanying v drawings, in which E ZFigQ lgg is a--perspective--view-of my improved egg cooken showingtheheating element inits raisedposition; 9 :Fig. 24's a sideview-thereof; parts being broken away and in section, the heating element being shown in its lowered position as in egg cooking position;

Fig. 3 is a front view of Fig. 2, the casing being partly broken away and in section; and

Fig. 4- is an enlarged sectional view of the heating element.

With reference to the drawings, I have shown an embodiment of my invention in the form of an egg cooker in which a single egg may be cooked, but it will be understood that any number of heating elements may be cooked simultaneously.

The mechanism is encased in an outer hooded shell or covering 10. In accordance with conventional practice this covering may be chrome plated so as to enhance its appearance for table use, as an appliance on the order of toasters, and the like. As herein illustrated, the cover is open at its front face for the reception of an egg 12, indicated by the broken line, which is received on a ceramic saucer 14, the latter having a dished upper surface with spaced upwardly extending projections for sup- ;Ufli t 'd States p m po ting theaiegg. .flihe .bottom .of' 113..S311661'i143iSj-P1'0 videdwithaflangedfi which is :receivedin-lanwpeningein the base plate 1 18. of thercover 110,: to; hold :itcimlocation. ,The; base .plateAlS :is provided with lupwardlyr extendingiflangeswzfitto;which;-the sidewallsoftthe: cover 10:. are secured by screws. ,22, .Lpermitting removal-.- of i-the ecovei from ;the; .operatingemechanism;which;.isi secured to the base plate;.18. i

.:.--A:.-pair of laterally, spaced, :verticallyeextending apt-ates 24 and;;26 .areclsecuredzfto the tbasesplatet 1'8 whichasupport a .horizontal'ly sdisposed rpivot rodrZSaat the :lowe'r portion rofrthe :cooker. 1A: :bracket :30; having a izcentral fiangeeportioni-32 and. downwardly iexten'dingsside flanges 34;;and136, iscpivoted on1thezrod128,. beingasPacediYthre} on:by;- spacerssleevese38' betweentthesilangesi-ili4fi36, an'rl plates 4,126. .The "side flange .236 .is :extendedi beyond the;rodfis iandiaaweight 40 :is received:= thereon, to counterbalance -1he heating element which is secured to the :central :iiang'e .portionxfiz.

til-he heating-.zelemenh 42; :is (in tthe t'form t of a crucible whichcis secured-to central flange. 32,0f the bracket wi This .cruciblev42 isshownin detail in-Fig.-4. It-cornprises. a wire;;frame :44 gbentinto: av cylindrical wall which is -.wrapped1-with ca layer of electric 4 insulation --inateria l 4.6,.asuch'.as micarorwasbestosr QOVer t-hisinsulating ematen'al is wrapped 1 .a multiplicity v of 1 convolutions of -ele'ci trical resistance .wire 48; .the wire starting"at=the--terminala50-zandaterminating througha wire fl, at a -connection x541 .;.A coating fio'f insulation material 56 s urrounds :the -wire:48.. The cylindrical wall 'isclostl at one tend and a insulation 58 covers tthe router cl'osjefd end 'Thez'c losed end of the acrucible-is secured to 'the centralifiange 32-of the -bracket 30. i I .-A thermostatic=safety device, topreventioverheatin'g', ismounted on' the top of lflange32. -It -is-desirable to initially-iheat the crucible '42 rapidly by means ofitlie resistance -wires 1; 48. that more heat is provided than is necessary during-the remaining cooking cycle. -The safety device provides "for intermittently cutting oif the current leading tothe resistan'ce wires. The-safety device comprises two parallel contact blades 60;.and=62 whieh I are norm-ally incontact to 'complete 'an electrical circuit from the lead wire :to I theIterminaI -SO and are insulated from each other' at their points of--support on the; top of 'flange s2"fbythj .employed for any reasonable number of eggs to be tions in temperature.

blade 62 is formedof bimetal so as to" be atf ectedfqr movement-toward or away from the blade' fiw bywaria- An adjustable stop -'66 isprovided for adjusting the normal position of-theblade fl'towafd or away from the blade 60. A stop 68 is provided for the blade 60 to hold it in position after the blade 62 has been moved away from contact by an excess of heat.

The connection 54, through lead wire 70, is connected to connector 72 which is connected to one of the main circuit lines 74. The other main circuit line 74 is connected to connector 76 and through lead wire 78 to one terminal 80 of a spring blade switch. The lead 64 is connected to the other terminal 82 of the spring blade switch. The switch blade 82 is normally in open circuit position, out of contact with the terminal 80, but is adapted to be flexed to make contact with the terminal 80 by the timing device, hereinafter more fully described.

As explained before, the bracket 30, carrying the heating element, is pivoted on the rod 28 and swings upwardly, as indicated in Fig. 1, by a tension spring 83. A stop means 84, carried by the central flange port-ion 32, limits the upwardly swinging movement of the bracket 30 by contacting a cross shaft 86 between the plates 24 and 26. A handle 88 is provided on the heating element which slides in a slot 90 in the cover 10. A shield 92 is Y mgiten ede gt- In --so I doing, i it sometimes ecans provided on the cexitral flangeportion 32 to protect the wound by a hand operated knob 96 detachably received on the shaft 98' of the clock, A dial'100 is graduated. to indicate the length of time desired. The amount of mm ing of the knob in'a clockwise direction determines the cooking cycle from a range of from approximately two to fifteen minutes; A'trip arm 102, actuated by the clock mechanism is normally in a raised position, 1 shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the terminals 80 and 82 are disengaged. This normal position'is when'the knob 96 is at the zero position on the dial 100. When-theknob 96 is turned clockwise the arm 102 is brought to the posiprovide further heating in the same cycle.

tion shown in full lines in Fig. 2 where it retains the heat-,

ing element in its down position'by its engagement with a laterally extending latch -104. When the arm'is in such position, an insulation member 106 carried by the arm, presses the contact terminal the contact terminal 80 completing an electrical circuit through the heating element; When the'knob returns'to the zero position the arm 102 is released fromengagement with the latch 104 and the spring 83 swings the bracket 30 and heating element 42 upwardly to the position shown in Fig. 1, disconnecting the electrical circuit to the heating element. Having the arm 102' controlling the switch blades 80 and 82, the heating element,'at the time it is raised, is always disconnected from the electrical circuit; When it is desired to'cook'an egg, the egg is placed on the bottom saucer 14 and the heating element 42 lowered over the egg by moving the handle 88 downwardly. While holding the heating element in this position, the knob is turned clockwise to the desired heating time indicated by its position with respect to the dial 100. This 82 into-contact with period, the switch blades 60 and 62 may again close to When the egg is cooked, depending upon the desired hardness and the initial setting of the knob 96',the' bracket 30 and the heatingelement 42 are released and the spring 83 draws the heating element upwardly, leaving the egg in its original position and free for removal from the cooker.

As thus shown and described, it is apparent that I have provided a novel arrangement of parts for cooking an egg in which, by a simple manual setting of the device and insertion of an egg on the cup member, a" complete automatic operation takes place whereby the egg is cooked in accordance with a predetermined time interval with a control of heating temperature without efiecting the time interval.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that it is susceptible of those modifications which appear obviously within the spirit of the invention and it is not my intentionto its scope other than by the terms or the'appendedclaim,

A device in the form of a portable appliance for cook ing eggs comprising, a hoodedcasinghavin'g'a base, a

- support for an egg carried by said base, a swinging bracket turning of the knob positions, the arm 102 against the latch 104 to retain the heating element in position until the spring in the clock mechanism unwinds,releasing the arm 102.

a When the arm 102 is down the terminals 80 and 82 are closed and the heating element is energized through closed terminals 60 and 62. The electrical current flows from one of the main leads 74, through lead'wire 70 to the heating coil 48, bimetal contact blade 62, contact fblade60, lead wire 64, contacts 82 and 80, and back through lead wire 78 to the other main leads 74.' his to be understood that maximum heat is initially supplied and after a short interval of time the circuit is broken through thermostatic switch blades 60 and 62. This is to prevent overheating, but the clock mechanism con- 7 by said timing means.

pivotally supported within said hooded casing, an ;electrical heating element in the form of an open endcylinder member carried by said bracket, manually operable means for swinging said bracket and heating element downwardly whereby said heating element encloses-the egg, resilient means for drawing said'bracket and: heating element upwardly away from the egg, a latch arm for e"n' gagement with said bracket for retainingsaid bracket-in its down position, timing means for releasingsaidlatch arm from said bracket, and electrical contacts ,i for completing an electrical circuit to saidheating element en- .gageable by said latch arm when saidlatch-arm is in engagement with said bracket and breakingtheelectrical circuit when said bracket is released from said latch arm References Cited in the file of patent;- UNITED STATES PATENTS P Y Smith a ;Aug. 9,:il932 

